Chinese farmer kills 25 acres of crops after following AI-generated weed and pest control advice — farmer trusted pesticide recipe after months of successful advice

A Chinese farmer in Chuzhou has lost 24.7 acres of sesame seedlings after blindly following AI-generated advice for weed and pest control. The 67-year-old, Wu, had used the AI app for a year before trusting its recommendations. When asked for guidance on managing weeds and pests, the AI suggested using high-efficiency flupyrimethalin, flusulfasulfaether, thiamethoxazine, and methyl salt.

Wu disregarded the need to verify the AI's advice and applied the chemicals to his entire field. The next day, both the grass and seedlings perished, prompting Wu to express his shock during a video interview. Agricultural experts noted that flusulfasulfaether is primarily used against broadleaf weeds in soybean fields, and sesame is considered a broadleaf plant, making it highly susceptible to the herbicide.

The USDA categorizes sesame similarly, and the AI chat interface even warned users that its responses may be incorrect. The farmer claimed the AI did not warn him about the risks but acknowledged the disclaimer stating "AI generation may be incorrect, please verify." Despite AI's potential, it has a history of providing inaccurate information, as seen in previous incidents such as a developer losing their directory due to a typo and Meta's AI Alignment director having to terminate her AI agent manually to prevent destructive actions.

This case marks one of the first instances where an AI mistake has caused tangible harm in the real world, highlighting the importance of users recognizing AI's limitations when relying on its output.